Insider

Cinemania at the SF International

The Jules Feiffer quote that sits at the bottom of film festival superfan Sue Jean Halvorsen’s email reads, "Movies are better than real life. If you go to enough movies — movies become real life, and real life becomes a movie." Strangely enough, Halvorsen, caught mid-festival at a pizzeria near the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, still seems firmly rooted in reality, even though—at six days into it—she’s likely already got 50 films of the San Francisco International Film Festival under her belt. A Cinevisa holder, Halvorsen has a special method for choosing her films, maintaining her energy, and seeing the absolute best work possible. She attends many festivals in San Francisco, so the complicated sorting-and-decision-making process is pretty routine by now. Her tastes are eclectic, from bleak nihilism to political nonfiction to big-budget entertainment to specific ethnic/national cinema niches. She calls the International "my window on the world (cheaper than airfare)," adding, "I love seeing the international community show up for various films—no matter how remote." SF360.org sat down over a slice to find the method behind Halvorsen’s madness in putting together a cinemaniacal film festival viewing schedule. What follows is her explanation of the highlighter-happy SFIFF mini-guide seen above.

topics: bay area, cinephiles, san francisco international film festival